The opening salvo: a review of a classic American movie that pertains to our most recent conversation topic.
The Godfather is the quintessential American gangster movie, but I'm not ashamed to say I didn't watch it until I was forced to in a film class, and I didn't really like it all that much. As I recall, the characters were all unlikable, and the subject material was not to my taste. However, I can't deny the movie has staying power. Why is that, though? I think there are three main reasons: the technical excellence of the movie, the detailed world and plot, and the love we Americans have for a great bad guy.
Francis Ford Coppola directs the complicated story well and gets great performances out of his actors. Even though I'm not a fan of Al Pacino or Marlon Brando, I admire their skills in this movie. The movie looks great and perfectly creates New York in the 1940s and '50s. But I think the real draw of this film is the concept of the good-boy-gone-bad combined with the idea of loyalty to one's family, even if that means crime--perhaps especially if that means crime. The US has a history of memorializing and glamorizing crooks: Billy the Kid, Bonnie and Clyde, and Al Capone, just to name a few!
With all of this talk, I've almost made myself want to see this film again! Have you seen it? What did you think?
